Tags
Bill of Rights, Convention Parliament, Glorious Revolution, Joint Monarchs, King James II-VII of England, King William III of England, Prince Willem III of Orange, Princess Mary of England, Queen Mary II of England, Tories, Whigs
King James II-VII’s departure during the Glorious Revolution significantly shifted the balance of power in favour of Prince Willem III of Orange, who took control of the provisional government on December 28th. Elections were held in early January for a Convention Parliament, which assembled on January 29th.
The Whigs had a slight majority in the Commons and the Lords was dominated by the Tories, but both were led by moderates. Archbishop Sancroft and other Stuart loyalists wanted to preserve the line of succession; they recognised keeping King James II-VII on the throne was no longer possible, so they preferred Princess Mary either be appointed his regent or sole monarch.
The next two weeks were spent debating how to resolve this issue, much to the annoyance of Prince Willem III, who needed a swift resolution; the situation in Ireland was rapidly deteriorating, while the French had over-run large parts of the Rhineland and were preparing to attack the Dutch.
At a meeting with Danby and Halifax on February 3, he announced his intention to return home if the Convention did not appoint him joint monarch; Princes Mary let it be known she would only rule jointly with her husband.
Faced with this ultimatum, on February 6, Parliament declared that in deserting his people King James II-VII had abdicated and thus vacated the Crown, which was therefore offered jointly to King William III and Queen Mary II and they were proclaimed joint monarchs on February 13, 1689.
Historian Tim Harris argues the most radical act of the 1688 Revolution was breaking the succession and establishing the idea of a “contract” between ruler and people, a fundamental rebuttal of the Stuart ideology of divine right.
While this was a victory for the Whigs, other pieces of legislation were proposed by the Tories, often with moderate Whig support, designed to protect the Anglican establishment from being undermined by future monarchs, including the Calvinist King William III.
The Declaration of Right was a tactical compromise, setting out where James had failed and establishing the rights of English citizens, without agreeing their cause or offering solutions. In December 1689, this was incorporated into the Bill of Rights.